Vajra
So what the hell is Vajra? Fair question. Wikipedia describes Vajra as follows: "In Buddhism the vajra is the symbol of Vajrayana, one of the three major branches of Buddhism. Vajrayana is translated as "Thunderbolt Way" or "Diamond Way" and can imply the thunderbolt experience of Buddhist enlightenment or bodhi. It also implies indestructibility, just as diamonds are harder than other gemstones... ...The vajra is representative of upaya (skilful means)... ...In the tantric traditions of Buddhism, the vajra is a symbol for the nature of reality, or sunyata, indicating endless creativity, potency, and skillful activity. The term is employed extensively in tantric literature: the term for the spiritual teacher is the vajracharya; one of the five dhyani buddhas is vajrasattva, and so on. The practice of prefixing terms, names, places, and so on by vajra represents the conscious attempt to recognize the transcendental aspect of all phenomena; it became part of the process of "sacramentalizing" the activities of the spiritual practitioner and encouraged him to engage all his psychophysical energies in the spiritual life." So what is Vajra within the Context of the Blood Red Dreaming and the Crescent Sun? It's a measure of success. Both BRD (Blood Red Dreaming) and CS (Crescent Sun) use Vajra in the same way that video games use Experience points systems, combined with also using them as energy point bars or magic point systems. The system uses two systems here, Vajra and progress points. Progress Points are simply a marker of progress towards earning a Vajra. Defining Vajra Vajra is the fuel on which the player's Avatars function. Vajra is the mystical energy of the human will and story. And it is literally this in the case of Blood Red Dreaming. Vajra is earned by doing valuable things in the real world, and recording those actions in a book (Called the Book of the Crescent Sun- because we are preposterously pretentious). Players are literally mythologizing their daily actions and routines. The idea here is to tie your entertainment to your daily routines, in order to make doing things valuable to your success and happiness easier by gamifying those activities. We are hacking our brains' dopamine production to help achieve our long term goals in a way that will sneak past all of our collective human failings. So yeah, ridiculously pretentious. Vajra Types Vajra itself divides into four types of Vajra. * Ether Vajra: Vajra of the Void. This is the default Vajra, a Vajra uncolored by any of specialization. * Air Vajra: The Vajra of Story: This is the Vajra of Logic, a Vajra colored by the ability to cut apart fantasy and find the truth. * Water Vajra: The Vajra of Mind: This is the Vajra of Knowledge, a Vajra colored by the accumulation of skill and information. * Earth Vajra: The Vajra of Body: This is the Vajra of action, a Vajra colored by the pursuit of achievement and vitality. Accumulating Vajra Vajra is accumulated, as indicated, is accumulated by doing things in the real world. There are four sub-types of Vajra: Aether Vajra, Air Vajra, Water Vajra, and Earth Vajra. Aether Vajra is earned by doing 'self-care' activities, such as exercise and meditation and journalling and planning. Air Vajra is earned by doing 'Critical Thinking' Activities, such as asking the three questions or attempting to disprove assumptions. Water Vajra is earned by doing "Self Sufficiency' Activities like gardening or survival skill practice. Earth Vajra is earned by doing 'Self Defence' Activities such as strategic games and martial arts training. Charge Bonuses The Vajra totals are accumulated and spent separately. As psychonauts progress through the lunisolar year, their achievements will earn them progress points which will translate into Vajra (of the appropriate type) at the end of each month. Vajra from the previous month (and only the previous month) can be spent as progress point in order to help warriors maintain streaks and obtain Charge bonuses. The Charge bonus is how we encourage people to keep achieving and to make a habit out of their own successes. Each Vajra has a Threshold. Earning three Vajra of any type is considered a 'Charge'. Players can build their charge by continually earning charge status month after month. The first month that a player charges a Vajra type, they earn 1 additional Vajra of that type. Each successive month that they earn the charge the charge pays out an additional Vajra to a maximum of 3 (ie. the sixth month that a player charges a Vajra type, they will still receive 3 Vajra, and so forth). Theoretically, this means that a player could earn an additional 12 Vajra each month (3 Ether Vajra, 3 Air Vajra, 3 Water Vajra, and 3 Earth Vajra) by the third month if they area able to generate enough progress points to charge all Vajra types. Vajra can be burned (as stated above) on a one to one basis to fill in blank progress point slots in any Vajra category in order to earn the Vajra necessary to maintain charges. This can be instrumental in allowing players to maintain their Charge Vajra on busy months so that they don't lose their three bonus Vajra. Sources * Blood Red Dreaming Blog: Defining Vajra * Blood Red Dreaming Blog: Accumulating Vajra * Blood Red Dreaming Blog: Quick Start Guide * Blood Red Dreaming Blog: How to use the Book of the Crescent Sun * Blood Red Dreaming Blog: One month of the Book of the Crescent Sun